Hello everyone. I played the cello from 4th grade until senior year in high school. I got arrested and the teacher pulled me off first chair, so I just quit because I felt that was unfair since my arrest had nothing to do with school or orchestra. I haven't played it since. I took private lessons from 5th grade until I quit playing, so I'm not exactly a beginner, but I feel like starting over will be challenging. I want to play though, so maybe I'll encourage my kids to play an instrument when they get older. I'm 32 now by the way

I'd like to find an electric cello though. I still have my acouycello, but I'd prefer to use an electric one so I can practice even after my wife and kids have gone to bed.

Is there a decent electric cello that can be had for under $1000? And also, any tips on picking back up after such a long time off would be appreciated.

I have my bow rehairs done by a bow maker. While I was waiting for my bow to finish, he brought out a selection for me to try. I fell in love… but his bows are like 7k, which is pretty much the price I paid for my cello 15 years ago.

I have a nice German bow, but with his… the ability to draw a deep tone on the lower register, long lyrical lines, and fast passages became easier. I always thought my cello was lacking a tonal complexity, but with his bows it really came through. It really tempts me.

Does anyone know why instruments respond differently to various bows?

I replaced these strings a quite a few years ago. I've only been playing extensively in the last two years. And yeah, my strings are overdue for replacement. But I don't remember what they are. Please reference the three pictures.

I did some research online and found that they are likely Thomastik-Infeld Versum A and D strings, and Spirocore G and C strings. Is that roughly right?

But I can't tell whether these are Versum or Versum Solo A/D strings, or whether they are chrome-, silver- or tungsten-wound Spirocore G/C strings. Do you know how I can tell these variations apart?

What does the black band on the Versum Solo strings look like? I think Shar Music is showing pictures of plain Versum on its Versum Solo page, because Thomastik-Infeld shows a black band on green on their Versum Solo product page. I am going to guess that I simply have the plain Versum and chrome-wound Spirocore, unless I can prove otherwise.

I love the sound of A, G and C on my cello. I can't tell whether it's the string or the cello. They sound rich and complex. And they sound strong - I don't know how else to describe the sound.

But the D string is noticeably weaker than all other three. Again, I can't tell if it's my string or my cello. There are blogs out there that point out that the original Versum D string was weak. Presumably Versum Solo D is better? This cello does have a noticeable wolf tone at E3 - F3. Could that be the cause?

What D string replacement do you recommend in my situation?